When it comes to wild, wild beauty, from the bottom of the desert to the tops of the mountains, the state of Arizona tops them all! Famous for its extremely high temperatures, only in Arizona can you escape the heat on a summer’s day and explore one of its many remote wild canyons only accessible by 4×4 and enjoy “non-technical” canyoning; Rock hopping, wading and swimming through cool and refreshing natural pools make for an extraordinary adventurous retreat that is simply second to none.
West Clear Creek is described by the United States Forest Service as “one of the most rugged and remote canyons in northern Arizona.” A stunningly beautiful wild canyon, West Clear Creek offers many deep tidal pools surrounded by narrow, colorful rock walls that are sure to cool you down on a hot summer day. Most exciting of all though, known only to locals for many years, and the reward for your day’s canyoning adventure through the pools of West Clear Creek, you will be amazed to discover Arizona’s garden of paradise, the Hanging Gardens!
So if you’re looking for a retreat and a great way to escape the heat, and you’re ready for a rough and wild off-road adventure and a challenging, but truly extraordinary canyoning trip to Arizona’s hidden garden of paradise, then I highly recommend visiting Hanging Gardens Hike, in the beautiful West Clear Creek Wilderness, Strawberry, Arizona.
Starting early one weekend morning in early August, I drove to a hangout in far northeast Phoenix, where I joined members and friends of the TLC Hiking Club, a local hiking and outdoor adventure club run by Eric Kinneman. After everyone had arrived and in preparation for the long day and strenuous drive ahead, we were given a briefing including safety and last minute advisories, then excitedly hopped into our vehicles ready to head off on the adventure we had all been waiting for a long time, the Hanging Gardens of West Clear Creek!
Heading north on Highway 87, we arrived in the town of Payson around 7 am, then continued north on 87 out of Payson until we reached 2.5 miles past the Highway 260 intersection. After making a quick stop to regroup all of our members, we got back into our vehicles again and with Eric Kinneman in the lead, we turned right onto Forest Road 144 and prepared for what we had warned would be an adventure. in 4×4 very hard and wild. And that it was too!
After turning right onto all dirt roads, FR 144, and stopping once more to regroup, we slowly began heading east. Upon reaching the end of FR 144, we continue to turn left on FR 149, left again on FR 142, and then right on FR 142A. One by one, we made our way very slowly and carefully along this extremely rough road and wild terrain, winding through the trees and undergrowth of the forest, and up and over large rocks and boulders. Be aware that all these dirt forest roads are extremely rough and bumpy and require having a good 4 wheel drive vehicle, not just an HCV because as a result of the recent rain storms that hit the area, we found some very deep and completely destroyed muddy pools along the way! Luckily though, everyone made it through just fine without getting their vehicles stuck, but wow, what an amazing off-road adventure it had been so far!
Once we made the last turn on FR 142J, it was about 9.9 miles and 1 hour 20 minutes later, that we all made it safely to the end of the road and were relieved to have made it to the trailhead. Having finally reached West Clear Creek, and our 9am destination, we parked, unpacked our packs and gear, then gathered along the cliff’s edge to wait for the rest of the group. There, at the top and edge of West Clear Creek Canyon, I stopped for a few brief moments to look around and take a few photos of the amazingly beautiful wild scenery that surrounded it. How incredibly remote, rugged and pristine this area seemed to be and how lucky we all feel to be able to experience this. This was going to be an amazing day and an amazing adventure and we were all so excited and excited to get started!
After getting everyone together to take some group photos, it was time to start our canyoning adventure! Starting from the trailhead at the top of the bluff and with Eric Kinneman leading the way, one by one each of us began to descend into the beautiful canyon below. The journey to the bottom of West Clear Creek Canyon began immediately with a steep, straight-down descent of about 867 feet along a narrow but well-marked used trail. With lots of loose rock and gravel it was a strenuous hike the whole way which there is plenty to do by dropping and sliding rather than risk a slippery and dangerous fall.
Having successfully reached the bottom of West Clear Creek, I looked down into the canyon we were heading for and realized just how beautiful this place really was as the sun’s rays lit up the high amber rock walls. It was just amazing! I took a few quick photos and then quickly joined the others. From here, deep and cool in the bottom of the canyon, our canyoning began quickly with rock hopping over many large boulders and boulders for a short stretch until we reached our first pools. With water no more than knee deep, we quickly dove into the water and jumped, waded and splashed our way through our first few clusters of pools.
By this time nearly all had reached at least the first few pools and were now reaching further down this beautiful canyon with deeper and longer pools surrounded by tall, beautifully contoured and narrow rock faces, an area commonly referred to as the “white box” of West Clear Creek. With all of our gear safely packed in dry bags and along with our flotation devices, we slowly swam from one refreshing pool to the next, through the beautiful canyon straits and as I continued to take as many photos as I could, the scenery was absolutely jaw-dropping and breathtaking!
After a short stop for a fun and exciting “jump rope”, the amazing canyoning adventure through the beautiful White Box and narrows of West Clear Creek continued as we carefully walked over wet and slippery rocks and boulders, while enjoying the beautiful scenery as we swam from one refreshing pool to the next, which to our amazement, within these pools were also plenty of good sized crayfish. Arriving in the middle of the morning at this time and with the heat of the summer day beating down on us, our canyoning journey continued as we inched our way across one deep pond to the next.
It was getting to noon and after about 12 pools and about 3 hours of intense canyoning, I was starting to feel exhausted and a bit tired. Thinking I couldn’t get through another puddle, we rounded the final bend, and noticing how green the riparian vegetation had turned, we climbed out of the water and looked up; We had finally reached the remote and hidden Hanging Gardens! Wow, it was indescribable! We entered this very lush, green, garden-like area, first we passed a beautiful waterfall gushing out of the high cliff above, then we went ahead and directly to your left, there were the Hanging Gardens, a beautiful waterfall falling gracefully over thick ferns and vines, and wow, what an amazing and amazing sight! I could not believe what I was watching. What a unique, remote and truly special place, a veritable ‘garden of paradise’ and remote and wild ‘oasis’ of literally epic proportions! This place, the Hanging Gardens, was simply extraordinary and so much more than I had imagined!
Now that most of our group and friends are together again, we took a break, had lunch, jump roped some more and thoroughly enjoyed spending some time together taking lots of photos and videos, trying to capture every moment we could of this amazing place. However, it was about 12:30 and with the afternoon heat upon us, one by one we began to make the long and strenuous hike back through the many deep pools and white box straits of West Clear Creek, where the towering rock faces now glistening in the rays of the afternoon sun, made the adventurous canyoning trip back even more beautiful and spectacular every moment of the way!
It was now late afternoon and having traversed the last pool and then climbed 867 feet to the top and edge of the cliff, we were extremely hot and utterly exhausted. But wow, what an amazing adventure that had been! It was around 3:00 pm when most of us finally made it to the top and the trailhead again where we were parked completing the day’s canyoning adventure according to our GPS was 4.70 miles round trip which we completed in about 6.0 hours.
From here we once again got back to our 4 wheel drive and geared up for the hard and wild ride back. Miraculously with only one blown tire for the whole group, and around 4:30pm we finally made it safely back to the main road again, having completed the off-road adventure according to our stats, it was 19.9 miles round trip on what was absolutely one of the roughest, toughest and wildest dirt roads we as a group had ever been on before! Wow, what an amazing adventure!
In short, it was truly an unforgettable day and amazing epic wilderness adventure, which was well researched, planned and coordinated by Eric Kinneman of the TLC Hiking Club. So if you are ready for a rough and wild off-road adventure and a strenuous, challenging and truly extraordinary canyoning trip to a wild oasis that is truly a garden of paradise, then be sure to check out the Hanging Gardens Hike, in the beautiful West Clear Creek Wilderness, Strawberry, Arizona.
